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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26764039">A Treatise on the Attentions of Boys</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/clarewithnoi/pseuds/clarewithnoi'>clarewithnoi</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Fluff and Humor, Happy Ending, Hogwarts, Humor, Marauders Era (Harry Potter), Romance, Sirius is the most physically involved wingman possibly in history, Teen Romance, but loves them anyway, remus lupin is SO done with everyone's shit, some marauders era fluff to help us all get by</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 02:54:09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,488</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26764039</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/clarewithnoi/pseuds/clarewithnoi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“So, let me see if I’ve got this all correct,” mused Sirius, “you think that if it came down to it, between the two of us – me and Lily, that is – James would choose me over her?”<br/>“…Yes.  Yes, I do.”<br/>“Bloody hell, am I the only sane person in this entire blasted castle?!”</p><p>In which Sirius Black intervenes on behalf of his best friend's love life - at the risk of personal injury.  Because, at this point, he'd much rather a punch to the nose than another night spent listening to James Potter wax poetic about Lily's eyelashes, and no one seems to be making any headway in bringing the two of them together.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Marauders &amp; Lily Evans Potter</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>138</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>A Treatise on the Attentions of Boys</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I just love these two so much &lt;3 and, of course everyone else involved in the Marauders era.  I'm not sure I can express to you how much I want a Marauders TV show with Sophie Skelton, Aaron Johnson, and the rest of the YouTube fan-cast LOL.</p><p>Please forgive any formatting issues, I am still considering myself new to AO3 and it is still trying its best to confuse the Hell outta me.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Oi,” whispered James Potter, sharply, as he sat down on top of Gryffindor’s table in the Great Hall and threw his books down with a bit more force than necessary, “who’s that slimy git following Evans around?”</p><p>“That would be you, Prongs.”</p><p>The bespectacled boy genius scowled.  “That is absolutely not what I meant, Moony, and you know it.”</p><p>Sirius Black chimed in two feet away, separated from James and Remus by the mahogany of the Gryffindor table and a small, wooden chessboard upon which he and Remus were playing.  His expression was grave as he stared Remus down, somewhat looking as if he were attempting to burn a hole into his skull with his glare, but to his chagrin only succeeding in pulling an amused smirk from the other Marauder.  His fingers traced the top of his most advanced pawn – a desperate attempt at looking as if he had the foggiest idea of how to win the match.</p><p>He didn’t bother to address James as he spoke. “I’d be hard-pressed to find another lad who fits the description so well, though, my boy,” the raven-haired Marauder allowed a grin to slide across his face despite maintaining a heated glare in Remus’s direction, “I reckon at this point you should print some name cards with ‘<em>slimy git following Evans around’ </em>on them to hand out in the corridors.”</p><p>He did not see the rather inappropriate hand gesture that James sent his way in response.</p><p>Despite this apparent readiness to engage in an argument with his friends, James Potter looked largely disinterested in their presences next to him.  His eyes were trained across the Hall toward the entrance, narrowed and suspicious, scrutinizing the distant forms of Lily Evans and an unknown student – a <em>boy </em>student, at that, and one with distressingly good hair and nary a visible flaw to latch onto.  The two seemed deeply in conversation, the unknown boy gesturing passionately with his arms as Lily chuckled mildly in response.  James could see from her features that she had wanted to exit the conversation at least a few minutes ago, for he had logged all of her facial expressions and their respective meanings years prior, having been on the receiving end of her more annoyed and defeated ones.  Her displeasure shone through in the quirk of her lips, how they couldn’t reach the full effervescence of her real smile, and how her eyes stayed downcast when she laughed, like she couldn’t bear to admit to the boy that whatever he was saying wasn’t as funny as he wanted it to be.  He grumbled darkly something to the effect of, “bloke can’t even make her <em>laugh…</em>” but it went unnoticed by his two very occupied compatriots.</p><p>James watched carefully for any signs of distress from Lily or, as he could only hope, any signals sent his way to swoop in and intervene.  He could imagine it vividly: the git would say something salacious or licentious, affronting the very proper and moral sensibilities of the Head Girl, and James would dash over in a fit of protective rage and land a devastating hex right to the other boy’s face.  Lily, overwhelmed with this display of heroic and utterly realistic masculinity on James’s part, would finally overcome her hesitance toward him and throw herself into his arms, peppering kisses to his face and jaw in amorous gratitude, and the two would walk out together, hand-in-hand, to the sounds of uproarious cheers from the student body.</p><p>Looking at her at present, however, he wasn’t even sure that she knew or cared that he was in the same room.  The scowl etched on his face dug itself deeper into his features.</p><p>Rolling his eyes and moving his rook two spots forward – <em>try and check me now, you git – </em>Remus didn’t even bother looking up or turning around to address the apparently distressing sight of Lily Evans talking to another male student. He was, at present, winning fantastically in his and Sirius’s rousing and unreasonably violent game of Wizard’s Chess, and he’d be buggered if he turned away from it just to give heed to the object of his friend’s long-term fancy.  “I’m sure it’s just a classmate, Prongs.  I would think you’d have noticed by now that she’s actually quite popular.”</p><p>“But he’s a Ravenclaw, and he looks older<em>.</em>”</p><p>These statements were laid out as though they were offenses for which the mysterious boy would have to answer, each one sprayed with vitriol, like Remus and Sirius would take them as cues to form a human shield around Lily to protect her from the inherent criminality of an <em>older Ravenclaw</em>.</p><p>They did no such thing. </p><p>Remus’s queen inched closer toward Sirius’s king, and the latter cried out in anguish as his hopes of winning seemed to be dashed altogether.</p><p>“You <em>sodding little—</em>”</p><p>What was sure to be a poetic display of swear word knowledge was cut off abruptly by James’s heated whisper.  “<em>Shhhhh! </em>They’re <em>hugging!</em>”</p><p>James’s entire body was tensed as he sat atop the long table.  His elbows rested on his knees as he chewed angrily on one of his fingernails, brow furrowed in concentration, his narrowed eyes scanning the exchange before scowling ever so often as the two continued to converse amicably.  The other Marauders could almost feel heat radiating off of his body, as if he was going to spontaneously combust from the sight of Lily’s unknowing betrayal (to a relationship that did not yet exist, although James would rather not reflect too deeply upon that point).  His foot was tapping on the wooden bench at a rhythm that was both alarming and deeply annoying; his shoulders were hunched forward and he didn’t even bother to muss his hair in the usual "James Potter" fashion.</p><p>He was, of course, going to stay put and absolutely not go over and interrupt the conversation, as the experiences of years past had taught him just how much Lily Evans did not enjoy his butting into her social life, no matter how much he wanted to – which at present was <em>very much indeed</em>.  In his own defense, it usually wasn’t so much about the other people she was talking to (unless they were flirting with her, then it was very much about the people she was talking to) so much as it was about his constant desire to be close to her. He couldn’t help it – he had loved the girl since they were twelve years old. </p><p>The two of them had only recently started becoming friends, in the wake of the <em>Severus Incident </em>the previous year, which still boiled James’s blood to think about.  He’d agreed not to do anything to the <em>slimy fucking git that never even deserved her friendship anyway</em>, a gesture of good faith to show Lily just how much he had grown, and in turn she slowly began to open up to him about her awful sister and her muggle upbringing.  She told him once (at approximately eleven fifty-two in the morning in the common room, after a potions lab that they passed together with flying colors – it was ingrained in his memory) that when he didn’t spend time asking her out or loudly professing his undying love for her in crowded corridors, he was an “alright sort of bloke.”  He didn’t stop talking about it for roughly three days after, until she laughingly said she’d retract the statement entirely if he didn’t stop bringing it up. He nearly burst into a joyous rendition of the <em>Ave Maria </em>when she started calling him <em>James </em>instead of <em>Potter </em>or <em>That Ignorant Arrogant Toerag.</em></p><p>So, no.  He was not going to jeopardize their friendship over his petty jealousies, but that damn well did not mean he couldn’t stew about it from a distance. He folded his arms in front of his chest and glared daggers at the completely oblivious Ravenclaw.</p><p>During this time, Remus and Sirius had a brief battle of annoyed glares during which they waged telepathic war to see which one of them would actually engage with James’s huffy inquiries.  It came to an embittered end when Sirius had the head smashed off of his final knight and, with a forlorn sigh, gathered his wits to have his daily Evans-related conversation with his best friend.  He squinted his eyes at the pair, trying to get a good look at the boy in question.</p><p>“Merlin<em>, </em>Prongs, come off it already.  She’s talking to Colin Abernathy.  He’s a seventh year from Kent.  Quiet, that one, and I’ll say the bloke can’t take a joke for the life of him.  Hardly anything to be worried about.”</p><p>(Remus had a brief mental interlude wherein he wondered what sort of hexing-jinxing-potion-making scheme gone wrong had driven Sirius to the conclusion that this random student “couldn’t take a joke,” but decided against voicing his curiosity, lest the tale put him in sort of conflict with his honorable reputation as a prefect.)</p><p>Across from him, James puffed out his chest and scowled.  “Wasn’t worried<em>,</em>” he muttered darkly and sounded altogether very worried, “just want to make sure he’s not bothering her or anything.”</p><p>A new voice cut in from slightly down the Gryffindor table, saccharine sweet and triumphant, causing the three Marauders to start briefly before they recognized the voice as Marlene McKinnon, one of Lily’s closest friends. “She’s hardly your girlfriend, James—”</p><p>“—<em>As you all keep dutifully reminding me</em>—”</p><p>“—So you can’t expect her to ignore the attentions of other boys.”</p><p>The phrase "attentions of other boys" seemed to lodge itself straight into James Potter’s throat and choke him, leaving only room for strangled gasps and wheezes to make their way out.  For all of his friends’ constant blubbering of loyalty, friendship and camaraderie, neither of the remaining two Marauders seemed intent on doing more than sitting in their places, thoroughly enjoying his discomfort.</p><p>A few words finally found their way past his lips, and they tasted like acid and regret.  “Yes, well, if you don’t mind, <em>this </em>boy is going to take his attentions<em>…</em>elsewhere.”  It should be noted that this did not come across nearly as bitter and threatening as he intended it, more so a flourishing and theatrical exit statement as he brandished his books like a medieval shield and stalked out of the Great Hall in a huff.</p><p>It should also be noted that, only thirty seconds prior, Lily Evans had bid Colin Abernathy a farewell and exited the Great Hall herself, only to be subsequently startled by a surly, “Alright, Evans?” once she reached the entrance hall. It was James Potter, hazel eyes shining as they gazed at her and invaded her space in a way that she only allowed for him (although she would never admit that out loud).  When asked what he wanted, James’s excuse was a potions project which the two needed to get a start on – one that wasn’t due for another three weeks.</p><p><em>Make all the jokes you want, Abernathy, </em>thought James smugly as he dragged Lily’s mildly confused form to the library, hearing her laugh breezily as he declared them behind on this relatively remedial potions assignment and in “immediate need of excessive and very boring studying,” <em>but she always laughs at mine</em>.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>While the two of them were trouncing their way toward the library, Marlene took it upon herself to interrogate James’s best friend about his romantic intentions, very much à la overprotective-best-friend.</p><p>“I dunno,” remarked the blonde Gryffindor, chewing thoughtfully on a piece of chocolate, “I think she just feels like he sees her as some sort of conquest.  You know, like once he gets her, he’ll get bored.  She doesn’t think there’s anything in it for him past the chase.”</p><p>Sirius chortled an incredulous laugh.  “Mate, are you joking<em>?</em>  Evans is it for him.  She’s not some ‘conquest,’ he’s, like... proper in love with her.”</p><p>“You really think so?”</p><p>“Positive.”  Replied Sirius, sagely. “The man would rather suffer the <em>cruciatus </em>for an hour than see her stub a bloody toe.  It’s a bit sad, if you ask me.”</p><p>He received only scoffs in return of his soul-baring testimony.  “No, really!”</p><p>“I’m sure he cares for her to a <em>degree,</em>” conceded Marlene, and all Sirius could think was, <em>bloody lucky you are to be under such an impression, please allow me to disabuse you of the notion by forcing you to listen to him wax poetic about her eyelashes for two hours every night before bed</em>, “but not the way he cares about <em>you.</em>”</p><p>“I should bloody well hope not, McKinnon.  Would make summering at his house a bit of an awkward endeavor for me.”</p><p>The girl rolled her eyes in exasperation.  “You know what I mean<em>!</em>  He’d throw himself in front of a hex for you or the other two buffoons—” (she ignored his cry of “<em>buffoons?!</em>” with practiced patience) “—but I just think he doesn’t like to see his toy get flirted with.”</p><p>“So, let me see if I’ve got this all correct,” mused Sirius, “you think that if it came down to it, between the two of us – me and Lily, that is – James would choose me over her?”</p><p>There was only a brief pause as Marlene weighed her options. “…Yes.  Yes, I do.”</p><p>“Bloody hell, am I the only sane person in this entire blasted castle?!”</p><p>Marlene and her accompaniment, a blonde girl named Mary, both seemed skeptical despite his outburst.  They didn’t know James the way that Sirius did; they didn’t see the longing in his gaze when Lily passed by, or the way that his eyes became alight when she threw even the smallest of smiles his way.  They had no reason to believe that James Potter was as absolutely mad about their friend as Sirius knew he was, because the only side he showed in public was the aloof, delinquent boy genius that treated Lily Evans like a toddler treats their favorite toy broomstick.  Territorial but noncommittal – a flight of momentary fancy.</p><p>It was at this moment that Sirius Black knew that he, the most mischievous, dashing, knightly of the Marauders (if he did say so himself) would have to step in.</p><p>“Watch closely,” he murmured, a small smirk growing on his features, “I’ll prove it to you.”</p><p> </p><p>           </p><p>The Gryffindor common room was awash with activity that very night.  Lily and company sat at one of the small circular tables, the former engrossed in potions homework while her friends traded gossip they had wrangled from the seventh years, <em>someone </em>dating <em>someone </em>or <em>this potion exploding </em>and whatnot.  A few of the very same seventh years played cards and sat languidly on the plush, red couches as younger Gryffindors flitted around.  Three Marauders, each one with their head in a different book (with varying degrees of relevance to their study from <em>Quidditch Through the Ages </em>to <em>Occlumency for the Advanced of Mind)</em>, were strewn across different pieces of furniture across the room.  Beside the students, the embers of the large fireplace crackled invitingly and the evening glow from the outside was transforming gradually into a clear, starry night. </p><p>Sirius allowed his eyes to wander from the pages of <em>Animagi, an Art? </em>and assess his best friend, who was also not paying attention to his chosen book. No, instead, James Potter was gazing unabashedly at Lily Evans from across the commons, a contented, almost sleepy smile playing across his face as he watched her muscle through a difficult potions problem.  Sirius thought she looked rather brutish with that type of expression, eyebrows furrowed so harshly and whatnot, but beauty apparently still remained in the eye of the beholder.</p><p><em>Time to make my move, </em>he thought, marking his book with a dog-eared page and moving to get up from his chair, <em>let’s hope James can forgive me for this one.  And Lily, now that I think about it.  Hope she forgives me as well.</em></p><p>His footsteps echoed dully through the common room, each heavy <em>thud </em>registering more and more like a tectonic shift in the relative silence of the crowded room.  Internally, Sirius was cringing at the events that he was about to set in motion; outwardly, he ignored the multiple pairs of eyes that followed his movements as he approached the table at which Lily and her friends were sitting.</p><p>“Evans!” he declared, and he watched as her whole body jolted upward before making sense of his sudden appearance, setting her quill down and turning to look at him with a more daintily furrowed brow.  Both Marlene and Mary were staring at him in a manner that stated, <em>whatever you’re about to do, don’t, </em>but he ignored their gazes just as steadfastly as he ignored James’s, which at present was drilling very curious holes into the back of his head. </p><p>“…Sirius?”</p><p>“Evans, I want you to know that the next two to three minutes do not at all represent my feelings about you, my regard for you as a person, or any sort of assessment of your constitution on my behalf.”</p><p>“…I…I beg your pardon?”</p><p>“If anything,” Sirius continued, and at this point he had the attention of most of his friends and a few curious onlookers, “I’d like you to see this as my testament to you and your good nature, as I’m quite confident that in the long run, you’ll want to thank me.”</p><p>“Thank you for <em>what </em>exactly?”</p><p>“Why, everything that’s about to happen within the next minute and a half.”</p><p>“Which is?”</p><p>“Not something you’re going to enjoy, I’d say, but again: please try and remember that in the long run, it’s all worth it.”</p><p>“Did you perchance ingest any sort of suspicious liquids in the past few hours?”</p><p>“Only the same ones I normally do.”</p><p>“You normally consume suspicious liquids?”</p><p>“This has all veered horribly off track.  Anyway, Evans, please do accept my apology.”</p><p>“…Your apology for this terrible thing which you’re about to do, but cannot tell me, but feel the need to warn me about?”</p><p>“The very same.”</p><p>“How am I suppose—<em>OUCH!”</em></p><p>The latter portion of her sentence was cut off by Sirius grabbing a fistful of her renowned red locks and yanking so that her head bowed back and she couldn’t suppress the shriek of pain that erupted from her throat. </p><p>The next few seconds, if one were to watch them unfold in slow-motion, were filled with movement and activity that erupted from multiple significant points of origin. First, Sirius’s face pulled into a grimace at the sound of Lily’s discomfort, despite the fact that he was, in fact, the one causing it.  Second, Marlene McKinnon and Mary MacDonald let their mouths drop open in shock, staring at him in stupefied horror before turning to each other as if to confirm that they were, in fact, witnessing the same thing.</p><p>Third, and possibly the most significantly, James Potter leapt up off of his perch, threw his book down, and made his way over to the table in three long strides, his face seething as he roared, “<em>PADFOOT!</em>” and threw himself at his best friend.</p><p>Sirius had only the time to turn his head, face sheepish, before James’s fist connected to his nose with a loud <em>crack </em>and sent him stumbling about three feet before falling on his back, blood spewing from his broken nose. </p><p><em>I’m beginning to think that this was not at all worth it, </em>thought Sirius bitterly as he clutched his face.</p><p>For a brief moment, no one moved a muscle in the wake of the commotion. Then, as if from a separate universe entirely, Remus Lupin’s voice sounded out from a loveseat across the room. “Well,” he began, voice flavored with such defeated confusion at his two friends that it was a wonder he didn’t just up and grab the Sorting Hat to have another go at House selection, “what in the <em>bloody fuck </em>just happened, then?”</p><p>The entire room seemed to take a contemplative pause at the question.  Now divested of the tyrant pulling so brutally at her hair, Lily clutched at her scalp with a grimace as she began to massage the pain away.  James, still breathing hard, crouched to her eye level and placed a cooling hand on the back of her head, eyes alight with concern at the few tears that had managed to squeeze their way out of her eyes.  (She would later deny that she had cried at all, rather that tearing up is a base biological instinct to pain, and how in the bloody sodding fuck was she supposed to know that someone was going to attempt to rip her head off of her shoulders in the middle of the common room, for Agrippa’s sake?)</p><p>Very softly, James whispered, “Are you alright?” in a tone that gave no room for their usual childish bantering.  His hand remained in her hair, fingers tracing soothing circles at her scalp and his posture a protective shield from the rest of the common room, who had done absolutely nothing wrong, really, but his hormones were raging at the moment so he was likely to become an equal opportunity killing machine if anyone so much as looked at her the wrong way in his presence.</p><p>Lily was almost as shocked at the sincerity of his voice as she was at her own blushing response to it, a shaky “o-of course” that sounded two octaves higher than normal in her head.  The two of them shared a tender gaze as James scanned her for some imaginary injury and Lily began to wonder if he had always had so many freckles peppering the bridge of his nose.</p><p>She gulped, entire body tingling from the soft traces he made in her hair, “you didn’t have to, um, punch Sirius, you know.”</p><p>A credit to how seriously James was taking the situation, he did not even deign to look at his best friend at the mention of his name (who was still attempting to stem the blood flow from his nose, as it had not even been two minutes since he had <em>just been punched in the face</em>), instead leaning closer to Lily so that there was nowhere she could look but his eyes.   “I would never let anyone hurt you, Lily.”</p><p>Lily’s mouth opened and then closed as her brain short-circuited in search of a response.  She did not find one, but James didn’t seem to mind – he continued to look at her in <em>that way he always looked at her</em>, like she’d hung the moon and stars and he couldn’t figure out how she was the last to know.</p><p>As if sensing her hesitation at his proximity, James repeated his statement, so emphatically that she gasped a small, hitching breath at the seriousness of his expression.  “I mean it, Lily.  I wouldn’t let anyone hurt you.”  The subtext of the statement was clear as day: <em>including myself</em>.</p><p>Slightly dumbfounded, Lily nodded slightly and couldn’t help the small smile that erupted across her face.  She wasn’t entirely sure how it had come about, or if it was just so gradual it had slipped by her like a passing breeze, but something between the two of them had shifted.  Looking into his eyes felt like the first time she saw Gryffindor tower: exhilarating and electric, but at the same time so blissfully safe and familiar, like the home she didn’t know she was missing.</p><p>“I know you wouldn’t, James.”</p><p>This otherwise sweet moment was soundly interrupted by Marlene McKinnon’s incredulous scoff, only a foot away from where the two of them were situated.</p><p>“Agrippa, Black, you certainly have a way of proving your points.”</p><p>“Yes, well,” came the beleaguered wheeze from the floor, whereupon Sirius was glaring at his best friend, “this is all well and good, glad we’ve established that James would rather <em>punch his best mate </em>than see Evans shed a tear, but if you don’t mind, terribly—” –he gestured wildly to the blood still leaking from his nose—“—could one of you idiots charm my nose back into place, please? Or at least <em>take me to the Hospital Wing</em>, for Godric’s sake?”</p><p>“Keep ahold of your knickers, Padfoot, I’ll put it back right. Although, how do you feel about three nostrils?”</p><p>“<em>Keep away from me, Moony, I swear to Merlin—” </em></p><p>James’s hand left Lily’s hair, only to shakily make its way to the side of her face, cupping her cheek with a tenderness he didn’t recognize in himself. The adrenaline from the past few minutes was wearing off of him, allowing his shoulders to sag slightly as he traced her cheekbone with his thumb, his breaths evening out as he watched her watch him in hesitant wonder.  Hearing her cry out had sent his brain haywire, synapses firing left and right as he tore across the room to get to her.  He had been such an idiot, before, purposefully setting off her temper or playing tricks on her and her friends, just so she would look his way.  <em>How could I have ever wanted to see her anything but happy? How could I go on with my day, knowing she was in pain? </em>He couldn’t even reconcile his feelings from earlier that very morning; if his fantasy of rescuing her from the Ravenclaw boy had to involve her feeling scared or offended in any way, he wanted absolutely no part in it.  Witnessing but a moment of her distress had cured him of any desire to see it ever again.</p><p>The two of them sat for another moment in the midst of the surrounding chaos, connected in a quiet island of burgeoning possibility.  They only shifted apart – and only slightly, at that – when Remus nearly bowled James over in an attempt to fire a dubious-looking healing charm at Sirius’s face.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>James Potter and Lily Evans announced their relationship only a week later, to hoots and hollers alike from the Gryffindor student body (and scowls from whichever Slytherins happened to be passing by).  Sirius, for his part, vowed that it was his intervention that brought the two of them together, and would be declaring his vital role in their relationship as the Best Man at their wedding.  He was not dissuaded at all by their furious blushes and swats at his arms.</p><p>“As follows in the tradition of all great love stories,” he grinned wolfishly one evening at the pair, who were seated on one of the couches in the Gryffindor commons, Lily’s head on James’s lap as they read their respective books and James’s hand twirling a strand of her hair absently, “Prongs will have to change his name cards to <em>That Slimy Git That Finally Managed to Get a Date With Evans</em>.”</p><p>Lily looked bewildered.  James glared. Remus roared with laughter.  From the portrait hole, Peter entered, hands and pockets overflowing with pastry nicked from the kitchens. </p><p>“Wait, what did I miss?”</p><p>           </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hope you enjoyed! Leave a comment, share a favorite line, give me some Marauders-era fic recs please! I need more James and Lily in my life, along with Sirius being the lovable menace that he is.</p><p>&lt;3</p></blockquote></div></div>
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